Sunday, March 29, 2009

India: Jaipur - the Hawa Mahal

Jaipur's most photographed building is its Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds. This pink meringue is little more than a facade, just wide enough for a narrow passageway allowing the women in purdah to look down on the activity of the streets through the many carved jalis (fretwork screens)without being seen.

Now both Indians and foreigners traverse the passages, photographing each other in the elegant archways...

...or crouching to gaze out into the bright sunlight.

There are fine views over the old city from this vantage point:

In the opposite direction, beyond the courtyards that fill the space behind the facade, looms the staircase-like structure that is the largest sundial in the world, the centrepiece of Jaipur's remarkable collection of early eighteenth-century astronomical instruments known as Jantar Mantar.

Before leaving Jaipur, we will visit Jantar Mantar for a closer look at its wonders.

About Me

I live in a 100-year-old house in Vancouver. On my Grand Folly blog I am recording the restoration of the house and the development of my garden.
Before moving here, we had a mixed farm on 9 acres outside the city. "A Year at Killara Farm", published by Harbour Publishing is my memoir of the garden I made there. It also contains recipes from my kitchen.
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I also have a travel blog, titled 2BusTickets. We usually manage to travel a couple of times a year. We take one carry-on bag each, and get around by local bus or train, or occasionally in a rented car. We prefer small independently-owned hotels or apartments that reflect the character of the country we're visiting.
We also travel within Canada, usually on short road trips from Vancouver and occasionally in other parts of this vast country.